


A Pet for Teal'c

by daroos



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Being Human - Freeform, Gen, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-17
Updated: 2014-01-17
Packaged: 2018-01-09 00:50:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1139492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daroos/pseuds/daroos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Exactly what's on the tin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Pet for Teal'c

**Author's Note:**

> This was written.... ten years ago and posted on some archive to which I do not have the name. Regardless, I edited this up and here it is. I hope you enjoy.

Sam exited the commissary, steaming pot of coffee in hand and ready to continue her research on some interesting ore SG12 had brought back from their last mission. She looked at her watch and grumbled at the time. She’d worked through the night again; it was almost ten.

Teal’c came up beside her and matched stride, cocking his head at the coffee. “Samantha Carter, I wish your aid in an endeavor.”

Sam blinked several times. Sleep was a good thing, not to be confused with coffee -- sleep often kept her from getting into odd and undesirable positions and it helped when talking to someone. t was always useful to be able to understand a language being spoken; sleep can help you with that. She stared at Teal’c. “Sure, what do you need help with?”

“I wish to make a purchase.”

“What do you need? I’m sure you can find it around here, somewhere. Have you checked in the lower storage rooms?”

“I wish to purchase a pet.”

Sam frowned slightly, blinking several more times and running his words through her mind again to be sure she heard him right. She had to ask. “A _pet_?”

“Indeed. I was speaking with Colonel O’neill and he informed me that owning a pet is a part of the Tau'ri experience. I wish to understand what he means, thus I wish to procure a pet.”

“You want to have a pet because Jack said Tau'ri have pets?” Sam clarified.

“That is correct.”

Sam arrived at her lab and put the pot down on her table. She rubbed a hand across her face she looked at Teal’c again.

“Is there a convenient time at which you will aid me in the purchase of a pet?” he asked expectantly.

“Um...” Sam hedged. “Couldn’t you get Jack to do it?” She asked, glancing over at her scattered work.

“I believe you to be a better person to help me than Colonel O’neill.”

“Well I’m flattered. I really am, but...” She paused with a frown. “What about Daniel?”

“I have already made of him a request. He refused and cited that he once had a small reptile, which he forgot to feed for several days. Apparently it died a very bad death.”

Sam pulled a face. “Yeah, I guess I could help you pick out a pet. How about...” she looked over her lab again and tried very hard to think. Failing in that, she continued to speak. “I’m going to take a nap. How about you meet me up top at about two?”

“I will see you then,” Teal’c confirmed  
\--  
Sam woke up with her alarm. It was one-thirty, and she had to do... something. Teal’c. Pets. Oh yeah, that wasn’t a dream. How on _earth_ had Jack convinced Teal’c he needed a pet?

Shrugging, she ran a hand through her hair, splashed some water on her face and went to meet Teal’c.  
\--  
The pet shop was one of those large, chain stores. Rows and rows of little glass cubicles with litters of puppies, kittens, cages with rabbits and rodents, tubs of turtles and tanks of fish lined the walls. Aisles of food and chew toys, little fake plants and treasure chests for aquariums, and lots and lots of those wheels for rats, wound this way and that.

Teal’c stood in front of one of the cubicles with chihuahua pups in it.

“What form of animal are these?”

“They’re dogs, Teal’c, and I use the term loosely. I don’t think you’d like them very much.” _Not to mention base regulation would throw one of those yappers out in a heartbeat_ her mind added.

“They are quite ugly. How did they survive in the wild? They appear ill equipped to hunt or evade predators.”

“The world will never know.”

“And what are these?” he asked again, in front of a golden retriever.

“That’s a dog too.”

“He looks very different from that animal.”

“They’re a different species. It’s like you look different from me.”

“Aah. What is this?” he asked, pointing to a doberman pup.

“That’s a dog too.”

A teenage girl wearing a green vest with a name tag on it came up to them. “Do you need some help? Would you like to see any of the animals?”

“I wish to see that,” Teal’c said, pointing to the doberman pup.

“Aaw. Sheela is a very nice girl. We have all her bloodline papers and she’s had all her shots. She’s very healthy and sweet.,” the girl said while opening the top of the cubicle and pulling out the pup. She offered the animal to Teal’c who accepted the pup and held Sheela in the crook of his arm.

“Hey, Teal’c, you’re not too bad at this,” Sam said, scratching Sheela behind the ears.

“I held my son like this many times. They are not dissimilar.”

“Oh, you have a son. Will the dog be for him then?” the girl asked. “She’s very good with children.”

Teal’c got what could be described on him as a pained expression. Sam whispered to the employee, “He’s away right now. They haven’t seen each other in... a while.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It is all right. He is learning to be a warrior as is his birthright.” Teal’c put the animal back in its cage where it promptly fell asleep again. “What manner of animals are these? Are they also dogs?” he asked, staring into a cubicle with a litter of siamese kittens.

“Those are cats Teal’c.”

“Would you like to see one?” the girl asked, again opening another cage and picking up a small fluff ball. When she held it out to Teal’c, however, it began to hiss and claw at him, shrinking into the woman. “That’s odd. They’re usually very calm.”

“Perhaps it senses my symbiote.”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Really. His... cologne can be...” Sam trailed off, attempting to cover for Teal’c.

“I do not believe the ‘cat’ likes me. Perhaps I should choose another animal,” he observed, unperturbed.

“Besides, I don’t think they’d allow a cat or dog in the SGC. Why don’t we look at something smaller?”

The girl looked from Teal’c to Sam and back again before saying she had some things she had to do and that they could call her if they needed any help.

Teal’c looked down at the rabbit bin and picked one up by the scruff of its neck, holding it at nose-level. It snuffled at him curiously. “On Chulak we eat creatures not dissimilar to these.”

“Yeah. Some people _here_ eat them too. But some people like to have them for pets.”

“I do not wish to have a food animal for a pet.”

“Well there are hamsters... And rats.”

Teal’c picked up a rat in his hand, it’s scaly tail wrapping around his wrist. He held it up to his face and peered at it closely. It bit him on the nose and he dropped it. Landing with an indignant squeak, it rubbed its nose once and skittered away to the corner.  
“Okay, let’s find you something that _won’t_ get hurt from a six foot drop.”  
“What of this creature?” he asked, frowning slightly at the snapping turtles.

“Those are turtles. I wouldn’t get one for a pet though; they bite a lot. Hey, how about a fish?” Sam pulled Teal’c over to the aquarium section.

“What sort would you suggest?”

“How about a goldfish? They’re not very expensive and they don’t need anything really special,” she suggested, pointing to a tank with probably a hundred two-inch long feeder fish swimming in formation.

“If they are made of gold would they not be expensive?” he asked, confused.

“They’re not _made_ of gold, that’s just the color. Here, why don’t you pick out the one you want and I’ll get an aquarium and everything you’ll need for it?”

“Very well,” he agreed. He did not look away from the swimming fish once while she was gone. She returned twenty minutes later with a fish tank filled with accouterment of fish ownership.

“Well, I got everything. You know what fish you want?” 

“I do.” They called over the girl and had her pick out a goldfish with a black smudge on its nose to which Teal’c had taken a fancy. The girl plopped the fish into a water-filled plastic bag, tied it up and handed it to its new owner.  
\--  
Teal’c stared enraptured into the 5 gallon aquarium as the goldfish swam around, back and forth and up and down, mouthing at the bubbler, through the plastic green plant life, to suck on the little rocks, and again, mouthing at the bubbler. Sam walked in, swinging a final plastic bag.

Taking the contents out, she held up the tiny bottle of fish food for Teal’c. “This is fish food,” she said, shaking the bottle at him demonstratively. “You have to feed him every day or he’ll die.” Teal’c continued to stare at the fish. “Just put a pinch of it in the top and he’ll eat it.” Sam unscrewed the cap and took a generous pinch, sprinkling it over the top of the water. The fish began to bob to the top, sucking in the flakes of food. Although one wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, Teal’c was completely drawn into the world of the tiny aquatic creature.

“So, Teal’c,” Sam started, bouncing a bit on her heels, “what’re you going to name him?”

Teal’c looked up at Sam, perplexed. “Name?”

“Yeah. Like I’m Sam and you’re Teal’c and Daniel’s Daniel. Ya know, I used to have a fish named Fred.” She laughed a bit to herself.

“Why did you name it Fred?”

“Dunno. He just seemed like a Fred.”

“Is a Fred a species of fish?”

“Well... no.”

“Than how can he ‘seem like’ a Fred?”

“It was just a name.”

Teal’c looked at the fish, consideringly. “I shall call it Gold.”

Sam looked sceptically at Teal’c. “Gold?”

“Yes.” He seemed quite self-satisfied.

Sam rolled her eyes and left to get back to her work.  
\--  
Five days later, the fish was still alive. Gold, being a gold fish, still hadn’t bored of the tiny treasure chest and diver that served as its bubbler. Life was good in the tank.  
\--  
Day fourteen of the fishy odyssey, Teal’c discovered Gold could survive on the algae growing on his little rocks for a few days; he was very relieved.  
\--  
Month four, Teal’c discovered they sell vacation fish food bricks in economy sized packs. He was again, relieved.  
\--  
Month four point five, Teal’c, in a fit of sentimentalism, decided Gold was lonely. He traveled once more to the pet store where he’d first gotten Gold, and purchased three guppies to keep him company.  
\--  
Month four point six. Daniel got sucked into the water filter. In a fit of distress, Teal’c flushed him down the toilet. Sam and Jack swam with Gold, happy and oblivious to Daniel’s untimely death.  
\--  
By month five Sam and Jack had mated, or whatever it is that guppies do. There was now an abundance of guppies.  
\--  
Month six, after changing his fish’s water, much as described by human-Jack, Teal’c’s fish mysteriously died thus ending his tenure as a pet owner.


End file.
